2012 WalterFootball.com NFL Awards

The 13th-annual WalterFootball.com Awards will be posted live Sunday afternoon starting around 1 Eastern. Follow me @walterfootball for updates.

M.V.P. - Peyton Manning, QB, Broncos.

I don't understand the argument for Adrian Peterson winning the MVP. No running back can be the MVP in the NFL right now because the league is so predicated on the pass. If you think that isn't fair, well that's just how the NFL works. There's a reason terrible signal-callers are reached for every single April. Teams are just that desperate for quarterbacks because they're so extremely valuable. Hence, Most VALUABLE Player.

Viking fans will point out that their team wouldn't have reached the playoffs without Peterson. This is true, but it's not a valid reason for Peterson winning MVP because Minnesota would have put together an even better record if Peyton Manning had been swapped in a trade for Peterson. Minnesota backers may not want to hear that, but it's the absolute truth. A few players - Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers - would have gotten the Vikings further than AD.

Peterson is the best player in the NFL, but he's not one of the top three most valuable players.

Many doubted Peyton Manning entering this season. How could he possibly play on a Pro Bowl level after four neck surgeries? Well, Manning proved everyone wrong. Not only was he terrific; he was the top quarterback in the NFL. He threw for 4,659 yards, 37 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions, maintaining a completion percentage of 68.6, which was good for tops in the NFL among starters.

Adrian Peterson was unbelievable in 2012. Despite coming off a brutal knee injury and playing with a sports hernia, he rushed for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns, maintaining a 6.0 yards-per-carry average. He fell just nine yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season record. Peterson was also a big factor in the passing game, which was not the case in 2011. He caught 40 balls for 217 receiving yards.

Calvin Johnson shattered Jerry Rice's single-season receiving yards record. He caught 122 balls for 1,964 yards, easily passing by Rice's old mark of 1,848. Sure, Megatron compiled most of these numbers in garbage time, but that's not his fault. I never understood that criticism. Why should his greatness have an asterisk if most of his teammates stink?

Rob Gronkowski missed six regular-season games in 2012, as well as the AFC Championship, but he was so dominant when he was on the field. He hauled in 11 touchdowns, which is why he was the No. 1 fantasy tight end weeks after being out of action. Gronkowski was also one of the league's top blockers at the tight end position to boot.

This was a very difficult decision. No offensive tackle really jumped out at me in 2012, but Joe Thomas was probably the best. He was definitely the most consistent. He barely allowed any pressure on the quarterback, which was a big reason why Brandon Weeden was able to look functional at times.

Philadelphia's offensive line was a mess for most of the season because of injuries. Mostly a mess - because Evan Mathis was the top guard in the NFL. He was a forceful run-blocker and was seldom penalized. Best of all, he surrendered just one sack all season.

This was a close call between John Sullivan and Max Unger. The latter was a slightly better pass protector - he didn't permit a single sack - but Sullivan was so instrumental in Adrian Peterson's near-record-breaking season.

J.J. Watt had one of the best seasons any defensive player has ever put together. He nearly broke Michael Strahan's single-season sack record, which is remarkable considering that he was doing this out of the 3-4 defensive end position. He was a force against the run as well. What he was known for most, however, were his swats. He had 15 of those batted passes, earning the nickname "J.J. Swatt."

Aldon Smtih received all of the accoldates for nearly breaking Michael Strahan's single-season sack record, but Von Miller finished with only one fewer sack. What Miller did that Smith couldn't was be an absolute force against the run.

I can pretty much use what I wrote last year: "This award hardly deserves explanation. Patrick Willis is an absolute stud with no weaknesses. He's a dominating presence on the football field, as he and Justin Smith did a phenomenal job of transforming San Francisco's defense into the league's premier stop unit."

With Darrelle Revis out of commission, Richard Sherman took over as the top cornerback in the NFL. He picked off eight passes and led the NFL in pass deflections. Oh, and he also epically taunted Tom Brady following a victory over the Patriots.

Jacoby Jones tied Trindon Holliday with an NFL-high four return touchdowns in 2012. The former wins the tie-breaker because he had the most important score, taking back the opening kickoff in the second half of Super Bowl XLVII.

This is so close. You could make a strong argument for Robert Griffin and Andrew Luck. But I just think Russell Wilson was the best of all the rookie quarterbacks throughout the entire year. Griffin probably would have won this award had he not gotten injured and slowed down at the end of the season. Luck, meanwhile, was responsible for just as many turnovers (23) as passing touchdowns. Wilson just got better as the year went on. He was unstoppable by the time the 2012 campaign was over. Had the Seahawks not drawn a 1 p.m. start on the East Coast, they may have won the Super Bowl.

Luke Kuechly won this award in real life, but he wasn't even the top rookie linebacker. Bobby Wagner had the better year overall. Kuechly finished strong, but he struggled at the beginning of the year when he was stationed at the weakside position.

Many believed that Michael Crabtree was a bust prior to the 2012 season. In fact, some deemed Darrius Heyward-Bey to be the better of the two picks from the 2009 NFL Draft. Crabtree, after all, had never accumulated more than 900 receiving yards in a single season. Well, that's no longer the case. The man known as Miguel Lobsterbush logged 85 receptions for 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns. He was extremely hot toward the end of the year when Colin Kaepernick took over, catching 55 passed for 823 yards and seven scores in his final eight games (including the playoffs).

Paul Kruger was considered for this award, but Muhammad Wilkerson was dominant the entire season. He was the primary player who kept the Jets' defense intact when Darrelle Revis went down. He was an absolute force against the run and got good pressure on quarterbacks. Outside of J.J. Watt and perhaps Justin Smith and Calais Campbell, there's not a better 3-4 defensive end in all of football.

I don't like to give out an award to multiple players, but these three seem destined to be linked together. The ESPN talking heads - mainly Cris Carter and Keyshawn Johnson - made so much about where these receivers would play or how they weren't being utilized properly, but the fact remains that Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and Choco Johncinco are decrepit has-beens who aren't good enough to still be in the NFL. Owens and Johnson didn't even make their respective rosters, which drew criticism from Carter and Keyshawn, while Moss remained on the 49ers because of pure stubbornness. Moss barely did anything positive and finally hurt his team with his trademark lethargy by quitting on a route when Colin Kaepernick threw his only interception of the Super Bowl. Moss is an apathetic bum and should not be in the league next year.

Call me a contrarian, but I believe that the awards Peyton Manning and Adrian Peterson won in real life should be reversed. Manning had a great comeback, but everyone knew he'd play. They didn't know how well, but the consensus was that he would at least be a very good game manager. On the other hand, Peterson's status for September was in serious doubt, even in the summer. Minnesota's own running backs coach told reporters that Peterson wouldn't be ready for Week 1. Despite this, Peterson was a first down shy of breaking one of the most cherished records in the NFL.

If you're not convinced, just listen to what Dr. James Andrews had to say: "I can't believe it ... For this guy to have played as much football as he's played his whole life, and not to have hardly any wear and tear, it's incredible. I've never seen a football player, especially one who runs and cuts as much as he does, with a knee in that condition."

Reggie Wayne was fully expected to leave the Colts along with Peyton Manning, Dallas Clark, Jeff Saturday and the other Indianapolis veterans. Instead, he stuck with the team that drafted him and helped his rookie quarterback's progression. His best moment, however, was stepping up when Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia, single-handedly upsetting the Packers when he caught 13 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown. It also has to be noted that Wayne was one of the league's best blocking receivers.

When Eli Manning called himself elite, he received some criticism. He had some supporters, however, because he had already won a Super Bowl. When Joe Flacco made the same statement this past offseason, everyone laughed at him and thought it was a joke. Flacco had some poor moments during the season, but stepped up in every single big game. Throwing 11 touchdowns and no interceptions tied Joe Montana for the best playoff ratio in league history. Now that's elite.

Titus Young punched a teammate, lined up in the wrong spots intentionally to sabotage a potential victory and openly criticized the coaching staff on Twitter for not giving him enough touches - all in a span of half of year. Young is talented, but he's a complete imbecile. I can't believe the Rams are taking a risk on him. He could easily poison that locker room.

This new award, suggested by forum member Clov, is given to the player who provided us with the biggest "what the f*** are you doing" moment of the year. That would unquestionably be Mark Sanchez, who gave us a comedy show after our Thanksgiving feast. Sanchez self-destructed against the Patriots, running into an offensive lineman's rear end. This, of course, became infamously known as the Butt Fumble. I don't think we'll ever forget where we were and whom we were with when we saw the Butt Fumble in live action.

Past Winners of this Award:
New Award

Free Agent Nightmare Award - Robert Meachem, Chargers.

This new award, suggested by forum member SirA, is given to the player who was the worst free agent signing of the offseason. It was a close call between Robert Meachem, John Carlson and Laurent Robinson, but the former gets this award because the other two were hurt. Meachem signed a 4-year, $25.9 million contract with $14 million guaranteed in March, which prompted me to give San Diego a "Millen" grade. It was such an obvious poor signing because Meachem wasn't able to be productive with Drew Brees, so why would he suddenly excel with Philip Rivers?

The Millen grade held up, as Meachem caught just 14 passes, meaning each reception was worth $1 million of that guaranteed money. Of course, Meachem also had that terrible drop that cost San Diego a victory against the Browns. He's an awful player who won't be in the league much longer.

Past Winners of this Award:
New Award

The Backdoor Bandit Award - Ray Rice, Ravens.

This new award, suggested by forum mod VBSiena, is given to the player who cost me the most money because of something bogus. The Backdoor Bandit was the moniker that I gave to Seneca Wallace, who was responsible for putting together a ridiculous amount of backdoor covers. This year's award goes to Ray Rice, who ruined my perfect call on the Chargers by converting that insane 4th-and-29 - even though he clearly didn't reach the first-down marker. I'll be furious about this for years to come.

This award is for the player who was the Scrub of the Week the most times on my NFL Power Rankings page. Two players were Scrub of the Week twice, Mark Sanchez and Chris Johnson.

I've decided to start doing tie-breakers for this. Chris Johnson wins that and this dubious award by being a "Player of the Week" once. Sanchez, meanwhile, stunk the entire season.

Sanchez single-handedly capsized the Jets' 2012 season. He ruined great defensive efforts with so many untimely turnovers. He also occupies so much of the salary cap that New York will have to let go of valuable veterans this offseason. People in the media will inexplicably continue to make excuses for Sanchez, citing that New York's front office destroyed his confidence by bringing in Tim Tebow, but Sanchez was already a hot mess prior to that trade. His implosion at the end of the 2011 season has conveniently been forgotten by poor long-term memory and dumb media groupthink.

This award is for the player who was listed first at his position the most times as a top weekly fantasy player on my NFL Power Rankings page. There were two players listed thrice: Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham. The former gets this award because he missed so many games. He could have been listed as a top fantasy player four or maybe five times otherwise.

Both Harbaughs made an extremely bold move toward the end of the season. Jim decided to go with Colin Kaepernick despite most of the media opining that Alex Smith should be the starter. John, meanwhile, fired offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and replaced him with Jim Caldwell. Both moves paid off, so John and Jim were 1 and 1A in this department entering the Super Bowl. John outcoached Jim in New Orleans, so he earns this award.

There's no question about who should win this award. Bruce Arians did an amazing job filling in for Chuck Pagano when the Colts' head coach was diagnosed with leukemia. Arians helped lead the Colts to an unexpected 11-5 record and a playoff berth.

There's a difference between most valuable player and best player. Adrian Peterson can't be the most valuable because of his position, but there is no doubt that he was the league's best player in 2012. While nearly breaking one of the league's most heralded records, he averaged six yards per carry and carried his team to a playoff berth - and he did this after suffering a devastating knee injury the prior December. Peterson is a freak of nature.